Seeks support for Toledo Council bid

October 18, 2017

My name is Darvin Graham. I live and work within this community and I am extremely proud to call Tama County my home. Since returning to Iowa in 2012 and settling in Tama-Toledo, my wife Allison and I have tried our best to find ways to contribute to the greater good within our community.

This fall I will be running for one of the open seats within the Toledo City Council. I came to the decision to run for city office because I'm greatly interested in local economic and community development. Allison and I spend a lot of our evenings and car rides discussing, and dreaming about the future of our hometown. I'd like to continue that discussion on a broader level and begin to dream, plan, and problem-solve with all of you.

There's nothing better than watching our community turn out for an event. When we are together, whether to celebrate a holiday, mourn the death of loved one, to cheer on our student-athletes, or to help each other clean up after a storm; that's when this place feels strong and healthy. The challenges and discouragements of living in a rural town can be easy to dwell on but I feel it more constructive to look forward and decide together what sort of community we want to work toward in the future.

Observing council meetings and speaking with city employees and council members, I fully respect and recognize the difficulties and complex issues that face our elected officials. I know this can be a difficult job at times and my hat is off to anyone who has stepped forward to serve this community in previous years. My intent is to look forward with cautious optimism and simply lend a hand where help is needed.

A key concern for me is how under-represented our minority populations are in this community and it is my goal to help create space for those voices to be heard and ultimately have a seat at the table.

I am not running with any one or two items on a personal agenda. Though there are things I believe in and ideals that I do my best to let inform my decision-making. I believe in building relationships and talking things through face-to-face. I am willing to be a vocal leader but more importantly an intent listener. We always need to create space for questions before we can arrive at any sort of answer. I believe in the power of growing through failures and not letting the fear or risk of a failure keep oneself from putting thought to action. I believe that, for the most part, we're all doing the best that we can every day and that sometimes it looks different for different people.

I believe I have a lot to learn about city government, about the Tama-Toledo community, and about how to be a good leader. But I'm excited, as all get out, to jump in and get started. Please feel free to reach out to me by phone (641-781-0743) if you'd like to chat about how we can continue putting our communities' best foot forward in 2017. As a proud member of this community I would like to ask for your vote on Tuesday, November 7, 2017.